By Ben Rohrbach | Comments Off on Source: Celtics to sign former Duke guard to 10-day deal

Former Duke guard Andre Dawkins will sign a 10-day contract with the Celtics on Thursday, according to a source with knowledge of the negotiations. RealGM.com’s Shams Charania first reported the deal. Dawkins has been playing in the Miami Heat system since going undrafted this past June.

In four seasons for the Blue Devils from 2009-14, the 6-foot-5, 215-pound Dawkins averaged 7.1 points with an impressive 60.8 true shooting percentage (40.7 3P%) in 17.4 minutes over 142 games. Once a top-10 high school recruit at Chesapeake (Va.) Atlantic Shores Christian School, his journey to the NBA is a remarkable one, having redshirted Duke’s 2012-13 season to cope with the depression resulting from the death of his sister during his freshman year.

Since leaving Durham, N.C., Dawkins played summer league games for Miami in Orlando and the Houston Rockets in Las Vegas, averaging 9.8 points (53.9 TS%) in 18.1 minutes over 12 games for the two teams. He signed with the Heat’s D-League affiliate in Sioux Falls, S.D., averaging 22.9 points (66.0 TS%), 3.4 assists and 3.2 rebounds in 36.6 minutes over 11 games for the Skyforce. And he played two games during a call-up to Miami, totaling 22 points (7-12 FG) in 38 minutes over two games.

The Celtics currently rank 22nd in points per 100 possessions (105.0), so they could use all they help they can get.

With a 102-93 victory agains the visiting Celtics on Monday afternoon, Clippers coach Doc Rivers improved to 3-0 against his former team.

The Boston bench scored 59 points — including double-digit production from Brandon Bass (17 points), Marcus Thornton (15 points), Marcus Smart (14 points) and Kelly Olynyk (11 points) — but the Celtics never led after falling behind by double figures in the first quarter. At least the recently traded Austin Rivers (2 points) didn’t make much of a difference for L.A.

The loss marks the C’s third straight and 12th in their last 15 games. They currently own the fifth-worst record in the NBA, leading only the Knicks, Timberwolves, 76ers and Lakers in the wins department with 13.

The Clippers’ victory keeps them in the sixth seed out West, seven games out of the lottery — an important distinction, since the Celtics own their first-round selection in June as a result of Doc’s departure.

SLOW START

After Celtics center Tyler Zeller made a baby hook shot to tie the game at two apiece 63 seconds into the game, the Celtics missed their next 10 shots and committed a trio of turnovers over the next six minutes, digging themselves an 11-2 hole against a championship-caliber starting lineup.

Meanwhile, Clippers center DeAndre Jordan dominated on both ends of the floor in the first quarter, scoring 10 points on 4-for-4 shooting offensively while collecting five rebounds and a pair of blocks defensively in the frame.

In a series of smaller moves, the Celtics have adjusted their roster once again.

The Celtics finalized a three-team trade that will send Austin Rivers to play in Los Angeles for his father, former C’s and current Clippers coach Doc Rivers, in exchange for a 2017 second-round pick, a $2.4 million trade exception and the expiring contracts of old friend Shavlik Randolph and journeyman Chris Douglas-Roberts.

The Celtics recently acquired the younger Rivers as part of last week’s Jeff Green trade, which also brought Tayshaun Prince‘s expiring deal and a future first-round draft pick (most likely in 2019) to Boston.

In another minor move, the Celtics placed Nate Robinson on waivers. They acquired Robinson earlier this week in exchange for Jameer Nelson, who arrived last month in the Rajon Rondo trade. It’s all very confusing.

In the end, as a result of trading Rondo and Green, the Celtics are left with Jae Crowder, $12.0 million in expiring contracts, three trade exceptions ($12.9 million for Rondo, $5.0 million for Brandan Wright and $2.4 million for Austin Rivers) and what will most likely be two first-round picks (Dallas’ in 2016 and Memphis’ in 2019) and four second-round picks (Dallas’ in 2016; Minnesota’s in 2016 and 2017; and the Clippers’ in 2017).

By Ben Rohrbach | Comments Off on Jared Sullinger would rather not change momentum

Jared Sullinger

While his team’s double-digit loss to the Hawks came as no surprise — even as Atlanta rested starters Al Horford and Kyle Korver — Celtics coach Brad Stevens wasn’t pleased with his team’s effort almost from the opening tip.

“I was really disappointed with our first three minutes of the game,” Stevens said of a timeout that came just 2:38 into Wednesday’s 105-91 loss to the red-hot Hawks. “I’m usually not that disappointed in the first three minutes of the game. I thought it was poorly played on our part.”

Things didn’t get much better over the final 45 minutes, either, as Kelly Olynyk allowed dunk after layup after dunk inside, Tyler Zeller finished 0-for-4 from the floor and Stevens continued to dig deep into his rotation.

“Well, I thought our offense was pretty poor all night, and I think they’re obviously a difficult enough offense to guard,” added Stevens. “But when you give them run-out dunks, it doesn’t help anything, and we just turned the ball over too much.” (Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?)

Whether it’s a direct result of trading Rajon Rondo and Jeff Green or a direct response to those deals, these young Celtics are playing with more purpose than they have all season.

“It’s kind of like being a younger brother,” C’s rookie Marcus Smart said following a 108-100 victory against the Pelicans. “You’re always told, ‘You can’t do this; you’ll never do this,’ and you just want to prove them wrong. And that’s kind of what we’re trying to do.”

Rondo has since admitted to a lack of effort during his final 18 months in Boston, and Green was notorious for showing up one night only to disappear the next. That’s a horrible message for young players, and probably part of the reason they’re gone.

“I’d like to see everybody carry the torch,” Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said of a void left by trading his two top players, adding: “Everybody has to be a leader, and I’ve seen just in recent weeks that there are more voices to be heard and more people that are stepping up and trying to be leaders, and time will tell whether they can be. Sometimes some voices snuff out the voice of others, and we’re tying to create a culture where everybody takes ownership and it results in the success of the team.”

Green, whose 17.6 points per game currently lead the Celtics, joins a Grizzlies team battling for home-court advantage in the Western Conference. Meanwhile, Memphis sends Quincy Pondexter and a second-round pick to a Pelicans squad in search of a playoff spot.

According to Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who first reported the deal, the Celtics will receive a first-round pick from Memphis that won’t come to fruition until 2019 and are expected to send Rivers elsewhere in exchange for a second-round pick and expiring contracts. Surprisingly, the Clippers have been mentioned as a potential trade partner, potentially pairing Rivers with his father in Los Angeles.

Prince’s expiring deal will give the Celtics as much as $30 million in cap space this summer.

Following the trade’s completion, Green posted his appreciation for Boston on Instagram.

Mere moments after finalizing a deal with his former assistant general manager, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge phoned another erstwhile front office employee to make a separate trade on a wild Friday night.

According to multiplereports, Ainge has agreed to trade Jeff Green to the Grizzlies in exchange for Tayshaun Prince‘s expiring $7.7 million contract and a protected first-round draft pick. The two teams are reportedly waiting on a third team to facilitate the deal. Green remained active for the C’s game against the Pacers on Friday, but was replaced in the starting lineup by Jae Crowder. The deal cannot be finalized until Monday, offering either team a chance to back out.

Suns GM Ryan McDonough was once Ainge’s assistant, and Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace held the same position in Boston from 1997-2007. In a strange twist, current Memphis vice president of basketball operations John Hollinger had this to say of Green in 2012 while a writer for ESPN.com:

I can’t stress this enough: Green is 26 and played four full seasons in the league, and after all that time there’s no evidence he’s actually any good and considerable evidence that he’s a health risk. Yet he’s being paid like a second-tier star. This was, without a doubt, the worst contract of the summer.

The deals give the Celtics as many as 11 first-round selections over the next four seasons, although that number will more likely be nine based on the protection of picks acquired in exchange for Green, Wright, Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Doc Rivers and Jordan Crawford. In addition to their own No. 1 picks through 2018, the Celtics also have the rights to the following: